yeah, that is a nice bonus knowledge! Also, you did'nt bump up the RD on the stop lip of the hanger! That's why the chain was loose. Ask me how I know this!

Hi, what lever are you using in this video?

Russ! What is your setback seatpost? Who makes it? Appreciate the info in your vids, just awesome. I ride a 2021 Kona Rove Ltd and it’s both comfortable AND tricky to fit. I have the seat slammed too far back rn. Thanks

I'm less hopeful on this count than Russ or Mr. Bike Sauce. Yes, the bike industry doesn't tend to cater to people who particularly value durability, practicality, simplicity and repairability, although the degree of this is overrepresentated by what receives hype and what doesn't. I think the bigger factor, particularly for the U.S. market, is that most profits are made on more expensive bikes (which have significantly higher profit margins on top of being more expensive), and cycling participation in the U.S. is infrastructurally limited so there is a smaller portion of less-competitive people. I'm in the midst of a career pivot, and explored possibility of working in the cycling industry, where I'd love to see less-expensive bikes that still work well but are skipping some of the marginals gains. And I came away thinking that (a) the market for such bikes is likely limited, and (b) to be successful selling such bikes a company would need to make it up on volume. And those two points don't go together nicely.

Looks like a lot of chain slap and potential fro chain drop.

Is it that bad on the bombora that you can't use it without the stay adapters?

Nice hack. Does it mean that also dynasys shifters with Cues rear derailleur should shift (somewhat acceptably) on a HG cassette? 🤔

Nolan, have you heard of Blister Labs? The UWC/UC Boulder students may be doing similar research to what you're talking about with quantifying compliance or comfort. Also, Russ and Jack Luke would be a fun conversation!

I have those . If i need to go to the store, I could wear regular shoes. Road cycling on weekend- SPD.

Underrated - mechanical shifting. It IS very frustrating that upper end components are not available as mechanical anymore.

You are a beast! Thank you for your hard work, fearless!

Lightweight MTB can do anything, and do it safer. Just not aways fastest.

It's the best when andy goes "ope" when he drops something on a bike farmer video

Electronic shifting is something that I will never subscribe to, it seems so unnecessary.

Sensah gra10 also works with sword as well with the same wonky pull ratio. 80 bucks for the pair is a steal

Wine, sausage AND bikes! I'm in. Any UK viewers fancy doing something like this, give me a shout.

I love how you are just tinkering and testing with the gift box of products not reading a product sheet and fake gushing. I hope GROWTAC sends you their brifters for an episode. I'm still looking for a left brifter to replace my vintage 3x ergos. Mmm 11 clicks of trimming goodness.

cool for sure but i wouldn't ride it. if i had to run it, i'd step up to a 28t small ring

2k for a bike…

Hey Russ, I really appreciate the video! Would you be able to do a video on testing Sword with a Dynasys derailleur? Or testing it with something like the current 10/11 speed Deore line-up, like the m5120?

Used to screw the front axle of quick release front wheel into the hanger to check alignment. 🙂 It worked for threaded front wheel axles.

Microshift Sword Dropbar shifters for hydraulic disc brakes would be a gamechanger.

a video on that derailleur hanger alignment tool would be nice. never seen this before :)

Stupid question : this is only if we're going for a 2 x 11? This is not applicable if we're just going for a 1 x 11?

I have the Sensah SRX pro 1x11 with 11-50 cassette, that just works great, i don't understand why anybody should risk trial and error to run Cue with Microshift, in the end it will cost more money and it's not ideal solution. The sensah deraileur and brifter costs only 100€

Next to try a LinkGlide cassette with this setup

10:18 actually, you don't need to check the 4th point. Three points are more than enough to ensure the hanger is straight.

Great video, Russ! To add to the GRX 810 RD being Shiminano' finest for the 2x11 system (40 tooth stated capacity), for anyone with running 2x10 or on more of a budget --- RD-RX400 is also great and has a 41 tooth stated capacity, which in reality is 47 t easily. I'm running a 46/30 x 11-42 10 speed with no issues.

Love these bikes. Any options that fit these types of bikes at half the price?

I love my’ 85 Stumpjumper , I do wish it was 10 lbs lighter up hills!

I have a similar combo AdventX 1by shifters, 4100 Deore 10 speed cassette, Shimano 5100 rd and ZTTO 10 speed chain, 42 tooth chainring. And... in general, the work is good, but not too great. The main problems are dropping the chain on the three largest sprockets, as well as choosing the chain length for this combination. I had to put a slightly longer chain and instead of the lower pulley with 13 teeth, a pulley with 14 teeth to compensate for the slack of the chain, but be able to unscrew the b-screw as much as possible. And with this combination, everything worked quite well, only the release of the chain from the largest chain sprocket was slightly slower, but not critical. There is no overdrop, as there was with a shorter chain.

sorry if I wasn't paying attention or anything but will the Sword shifters work with older Shimano RDs? Dynasys, non clutch ones? 9 and 10speeds in particular

This is awesome, I was snooping around the internet trying to see if anyone has done this, so a pleasant find and thanks so much for posting. (P.S., my partner recently bought the Soma Grand Randonneur you had and reviewed, she loves it!, a super lucky find). Thank's for all the great content.

Just used the ORTLIEB on the Badger Divide route in Scotland. Worked really well

I applaud the courage to hack your main whip for our benefit

I think that all we really need to know if the index pull length of the shifter vs the gap between sprockets at the cassette x gain of the derailleur.

Yes folks underestimate how LONG garage videos/experiments can take and I seriously appreciate you doing this!!

I will give you the best tip for any bicycle with any derailleur system model or brand: Use only 9 speed cassette. The chain is much stronger, therefore lasting 3-4 times longer distance (best 9speed chain - Sram made in Portugal). all 9 speed cassette, 9 speed derailleurs or shifters are the same method in all road or MTB bike and compatible to each other in any models on the market. (with one exceptional: you should adapt the length of the cage). Also you can find all range of 9 speed cassettes: from 11-25 till 11-50. And last but not least: It's significantly cheaper than 10-11-12 speed systems. Don't follow the brainwash Shimano and other companies insert to your mind. They base their profits on your ignorance. 99% of you don't need the expensive models Shimano or Sram selling you. They just rob your pocket.

So nearly there. This was annoyingly close to a “test” but you rushed the “money shots” and did not show the futzing to make it work. The chain is too long and you did not test each gear going both ways - like you would use it on the road.

Thanks Russ, we appreciate it

Microshift has drop bars that pull dyna sys deore 10sp. That is the holy Grail for me Sti shifting a mtb derailleur.

To me the real magic is going to be getting that LinkGlide cassette working. I don't see this CUES rear derailleur working with drop bar being so groundbreaking. We already have a plethora of similar RDs, but so far I'm not aware of anyone being able to shift the LG cassette with drop bars. Having that LG durability for a commuter bike would be a game changer

Thanks, Russ. Seems like a lot of work for this video. We appreciate it, as these kinds of tests shed a lot of light on our options in the component world. THANKS!

Dude the GRX 810 derailleur is the beast! Yea!!! I use it with Microshift Centos 11 brifters- Campy copycats. Shifting is perfect every time. I beat the crap out of my bike on NJ mtb trails. No issues.

Great discovery. I put a Rivendell friction shifter on my LHT. Seemed to be shifting great but noticed it would skip up or down a gear when I stood up on the pedals. Running it 9 spd with 9 spd chain……..thoughts

Your channel is unique in the amount of thought, research and hands on work. Not withstanding the information provided too. Im working on an older Trek experimenting with subcompact cranks and bar ends with 105 derailleurs. It is time consuming setting everything up . I applaud all your hard work and diligence.

One more thing. Cable-derai-chainO-lattee is under greater tension as you go up, so housing system stiffness matters.

Would love to know the crank/bb spindle length to understand the chain line. The 'near' match with indexed shifters can 'mysteriously' go off a few hundred miles in - and wear tolerances are often equally un-accountable. Overall, completely love this regular segment.

Sometimes… sometimes… when you put a load on the bike (riding it) it may not shift as well. I’ve never tried this combo, so I’m not saying anything about this experiment. I’ve had that issue at our shop more than once. Shifted great on the stand, but not during a ride.

Must admid, that the microshift front and rear derailleur look pretty similiar to the 11speed shimano grx/cues etc derailleurs, so they probably copied a lot, which is why they work so well together. Quite nice to see more brands being compatible with shimano stuff, although shimano isn't that expensive anymore if your buying used gear!